News & Opinions

As we come to the end of another year, it’s time to kick back a bit, spend more time with family and friends, and reset for the next decade. So why not take your cue from the Mexican fisherman who seems to have found just the right way to live what he calls “a full and busy life.”

Chances are we’ll all be able to relax over the festive season without Moody’s joining the other ratings agencies by reducing South Africa to sub-investment grade. But come 2020, the single horsehair suspending that Damoclean sword over us will seem more fragile than ever. So what’s going to happen? Global investment adviser Fundhouse has produced a penetrative analysis we’d like to share with you.

People out there are about to go crazy. Black Friday is upon us and they’re about to unleash the inner shopping cravings they have been suppressing all year. But, as they say, buyer beware. We came across a study by behavioural economists and thought you would find useful their top traps on Black Friday.

It seems so clear cut. The best chance you have to achieve your investment goals is to save regularly over the long term. So why do so many people fail to follow this logic? It requires delayed gratification, not something the world we live in subscribes to. In this light, we wanted to share some insights from Nic Andrew, Head of Nedgroup Investments.

Waves of change are driving down investment fees in the asset management industry, creating hot debate over what’s best for you, the investor. Is it low-cost index-tracking or actively managed ones? In an article published recently in Business Day, Veritas Wealth founder Barry O’Mahony sizes up what’s going on and what it means to you.

Many commentators are coming close to consigning President Cyril Ramaphosa to lame duck status. “Just do something”, they cry. One commentator who thinks the President is not only doing something but is succeeding to a large degree is political analyst JP Landman. His recent investment research note, published by Nedbank Private Wealth, provides an interesting perspective we thought we would share with you.

Never mind how much you earn or your standard of education, your age or gender. What really counts when it comes to building your retirement nest egg is that most precious thing called time. The impact on savings can be jaw-dropping.

You may agree with the observation that currently President Cyril Ramaphosa is in a very tight spot. He needs to create policy certainty and restore investor confidence, but his conflict-ridden party appears to be in a state of paralysis and unable to move forward. Faced with limited room for manoeuvre, growing debt and diminishing options to borrow money, one pattern of thought is that it’s time for him to become a bit ruthless.